Insanity Loves Company
by Seasnake
Summary: Soulmate AU. Story I wrote for fun. Izaya/OC What I think Izaya's soulmate might look like.


Humans, they were so fascinating and imperfect. How could he not love them? Even when there was a perfect road laid out in gold for them, they found a way to get lost. They defied explanation, far more so then magic and fairies. In comparison to humans, fairies were dull.

A perfect example of why he loved humanity so much had to do with the last bit of magic humanity held. A whole field of sociology and scientific inquiry was devoted to trying to unravel its mysteries. Izaya laughed at every new article published, when would they accept that something denied explanation?

In concept it was simple, humans were social creatures and designed to make meaningful connections with others, friendships, contracts, marriages, ectra, ectra. The strongest of these relationships was with a soul mate. In theory, every person had a soul mate. A person to complete you, to compliment and complement you. Soul mates with a healthy connection described the relationship as 'being half of a whole', 'finding my other half'. When soul mates touched for the first time, there was a spark between them. The stronger the feeling, the stronger the connection. That spark stayed alive as long as the soul mates kept in contact.

All bonded humans developed a mark on their body. Some described it as the spark burned the mark into their skin but that was dramatic. In reality it was just a patch of skin with darker pigmentation. The mark appeared somewhere on the person's back and could be any shape or size as long as it matched the one your soul mate had. People who studied sociology theorized that the mark was not for the soul mates but there to let others know that the person in question was already bonded. Depending on the strength of their relationship a person could locate their soul mate long distance, get whiff of their mate's strong emotions such as fear or excitement, and almost everyone could feel something when his or her mate was injured or died. Nobody could explain what caused the connection between soul mates, it was just how things worked. Ideally, soul mates always spent the rest of their lives together, operating as a unit, either as a married couple, roommates, or best friends. But in practice, that ideal became wondrously flawed, just like everything humanity touched.

Erika and Walker, poster children for soul mates, perfect for each other in every way. Whether or not they had sex was irrelevant, together they had a built a perfect fantasy world for just the two of them. It was positively adorable.

Then of course there was Masamomi and Saki. A perfect example of how magical love didn't make people any less easy to manipulate. Izaya had found Kida's soul mate and introduced them, you're welcome.

But most of the time soul mates ended up in a tangled mess rather then in a happy relationship. Nami was so convinced that her soul mate was her little brother, that she had ruined herself for anyone else. Her singular obsession made it virtually impossible for her to build a bond with anyone other then her perceived perfect match. The craziness ran in the family, Seiji had the same compulsion for Celty's head. Fortunately for him, his soul mate was willing to accept his oddities.

Shinra was probably in a similar boat. He had been in love with Celty since he was four, almost certainly world record. He had chosen his own soul mate so there was no way to know if there was also a human out there that could bond with him. Mikado and Arni were a strange case. Arni had been taken over by a sword that was no doubt messing up her ability to bond with anyone. If she had never gotten that sword, they might have been soul mates but now, who knew?

And, while thinking about soul mates, Izaya couldn't leave out his sisters. He honestly couldn't wait to see if they would find a pair of similarly involved male twins to have four way sex with or just stay as they were. In a few years, if they didn't annoy him, maybe he should start looking for said male twins as a birthday present to send them. He would have already sent them their idol if that idol didn't happen to be Shizuo's brother.

Those were just the people who had found a mate. A large portion of the population didn't. Tom, for example. Or Dotachin. If they did have soul mates, they were probably on another continent. And of course others had simply botched their chance or had become too disgusting to work with their intended bond anymore. Just because you had a soul mate, didn't mean it would always work out. Izaya would be shocked and appalled, if there was a fellow monster in the world to bond with Shizuo.

Come to think of it, Izaya didn't really know any same-sex soul mates. They existed but weren't nearly as common as heterosexual ones. Even his own soul mate was female. No, he was not soul mates with Shizuo, like Erika thought. Shizuo was fun to fuck with, and sure if the chance ever presented itself, he might even fuck him. But soul mates with that brainless, self-doubting, uncontrollable, beast? No. His soul mate was a thing of beauty, a companion worthy of a god. If he had never met her, well, there was no way to predict what his life would be, but it certainly wouldn't be this.

Akita Chie embodied everything he loved about humanity. Or perhaps, humanity embodied everything he loved about her. Chie was a walking contradiction, a being of constant movement, a complete and utter nut case, and she was perfect. Izaya met her in grade school. He was seven years had just begun his second year of school. Back then Izaya, while still a genius, didn't cause trouble. He followed the rules, excelled in class, and observed his classmates. He was a child, he had no idea who he was or what he wanted to be. But on the thirteenth day of school, the other half of his soul literally hit him in the head.

Seven year old Izaya sat by himself, away from the main part of the playground where the rest of the children spent their outside time. He used a stick to dig in the dirt looking for worms. Normally he played baseball with the other children but today his curiosity took precedence. He had heard that worms didn't have brains and he wanted to see if that was true. He was focused on pulling up a patch of grass and didn't notice her approach until she bumped into him.

"What?!" he turned to look at her.

"In my way," she said briskly. She marched towards him with her arms swinging. He sat directly in her path but she didn't slow down in the slightest. Izaya whined in protest as she braced a knee against his shoulder so she could lever herself over his back.

"Ow, stop it," he protested. She ignored him and pressed her hand against the back of his neck for support. A flash of something white hot jolted down Izaya's spine. It hurt but it was a pleasant pain, like loosing a baby tooth. For a moment he completely forgot where he was. The only thought in his head was a name that he didn't recognize but would never forget "Akita Chie". When he blinked back to reality he realized that the strange girl using him as a step stool had frozen. Before he could comment or push her off him, she sprang back into life and clumsily clamored over him. Izaya watched her flop down on the dirt on the opposite side of him. She then quickly righted her self and continued to walk in a purposely straight line. It wouldn't be until years later that Izaya would learn what that flash of pain meant. At the time he just felt the strange need to talk to Chie and to know if she had felt it too.

He watched her walk for a minute then abandoned his half-dug hole and went after her.

"What's your name?" he jogged up beside her.

"Akita Chie. Who are you?" She didn't spare a glance from concentrating on keeping her path dead straight.

"Orihara Izaya," he grinned with excitement, this was suddenly interesting. "I haven't seen you before, you must be new."

"I'm a first year. I'm six," Chie answered.

"This is my second year, I'm seven." The girl stopped, turned abruptly, and stared at him. Izaya returned her stare, completely undeterred. Her eyes showed intense, fearless, intelligence, same as his own. Izaya knew what she was doing, he had the same problem. Whenever he stared at people, they always got shy and looked away. But he wasn't about to get shy around this girl, he'd make her shy around him first. The two of them just stood there staring at each other. The teachers eventually had to physically pull them away from each other at the end of recess.

After that, Izaya and Chie were inspirable. They didn't have class together but always shared glances when they passed in the school hallways and talked when they had time. At recess Izaya still played with his classmates and Chie still wandered around by herself or with a few of her classmates, absorbed in her own mind. Whenever Izaya had something interesting to share he would hunt down Chie, wherever she happened to be day dreaming and tell her about it. Chie for her part, just came and went doing whatever was her fancy at the moment. Sometimes Chie would show up while Izaya was in the library and sit next to him. She didn't read much though, preferring instead to skim the titles, flip through the pictures, or read the backs of books. Over the summer they occasionally met up, but no more then Izaya met with any of his other classmates.

Chie was a whirlwind of activity. She would run on fumes until she crashed and had to take a nap in the middle of the day. On Monday she might be kind and compassionate. She would go out of her way to comfort the victims of bullying. She would sit with the other girls under the climbing equipment and listen to funny stories. On Tuesday her mood might sift dramatically. She would steal lunch from the younger kids or say nasty things to people she barely knew. She might hang upside down from the monkey bars, not caring that she wore a skirt. Just as likely, she would sit underneath a shady tree thinking thoughts others couldn't begin to comprehend and scream at anyone that dared to disturb her. She alternated between random acts of kindness and random acts of malice, and oversensitivity and utter apathy in on discernable pattern. Her mind was brilliant when she chose to use it, her memory flawless when not being selective. She purposely slacked off in class then whined when she got bad grades. She was a habitual liar but insisted truth was golden and meant it. With Chie anything was possible.

After two years of knowing each other, Chie approached Izaya one morning and informed him that she was not going to enter the school house today and was rather going to wander around town. If he wanted to join her that would be fine, if he didn't that would be fine, if he told on her then she would steal his backpack and pee on it. Izaya decided to join her. It was the first time he skipped school. They had a great day playing hooky. Izaya complained about his two new baby sisters, Chie told him about her dumb big brother. They bought ice cream and talked about their futures. Izaya told her that he didn't know what he wanted to do yet. He wanted a job that only adults knew about and didn't tell kids existed. Chie said that she didn't want to work, she wanted to marry a rich man then steal his money. Or maybe she would work if she wanted to. She liked ice cream, maybe she could make ice cream. Nah, that would get boring after a little while. Izaya made sure that they went home right as school was let out so that their parent's wouldn't know they skipped.

On the three year anniversary of the day they met, Izaya asked Chie to pretend marry him. Over the summer he had read about soul mates and had realized that Chie was his and that he should marry her. She enthusiastically agreed to meet him after school so one of the upperclassmen could pronounce them a married couple within the school, only to stand him up. Izaya was, for the first and only time in his life, heart broken. At least until the next day where Chie greeted him outside the school gates with a tackle hug and the declaration that now that they were a couple if she ever saw him flirting with another girl she would hit him in the head with a rock until he stopped breathing, seriously, she had a rock, and it was in her pocket right now. They never spoke of her mysterious absence that night, nor any of her continued mysterious absences or appearances, it was just how she functioned and Izaya loved her for it. She really did have a rock in her pocket to bludgeon him with, as Izaya found out later that day when he saw Chie pull out her rock, and chuck it at an unsuspecting pigeon.

They continued like that for the rest of grade school. They spent more time together but never felt pressured to go out of their way to hang out. They gave away their first kisses to each other while hiding in one of the janitor closets. Well, actually Chie was in there looking for bleach, for some reason, and Izaya just popped in to remind her not to skip her second period class because she had a test. Izaya was still immensely popular in school, being good at sports, smart, and active in class activities. Chie continued to be the flaky, class weirdo that nobody really liked or didn't like but who everyone talked about behind her back. The only bullying Chie ever received was from a couple of girls who were jealous of her monogamous school yard marriage to Izaya.

There was one particularly nasty girl, Mikaru, who would end up having a bigger impact on Izaya's life then he would have ever guessed. One day, Izaya caught Mikaru making rude gestures at Chie. He went over and told her off, emotionally crushed her without laying a finger on her. As he watched Mikaru run away crying, for the first time in his life he realized how powerful he was, how superior he was to everyone else. He had always known that he was smarter then most but this sense of being above his peers was new, and exhilarating.

"That was bad-ass." Chie cemented his new outlook on life as she came up and gave him a quick kiss.

Izaya returned that kiss two days later. Apparently Mikaru's friend told Mikaru's boyfriend about the incident and the boy decided to ambush Izaya and beat him up. Izaya only heard all this after the fact because Chie got to the vengeful boyfriend before he could get to Izaya. She didn't even mention the incident to him. She only told him what happened when Izaya approached her and asked about why Mikaru's boyfriend was in the hospital recovering from having the living shit beat out of him.

The last time Izaya saw Chie, was the summer before he went to middle school. They were walking through the park, just people watching and talking. They acted like they always did. Izaya calm, controlled, and confident, talking in riddles and never saying all of what he was thinking. Chie hopping along side him, scooping up rocks to toss at bushes or leaping to swat at low hanging branches, never saying much of anything that outwardly seemed to relate to the topic. Each understanding the other perfectly. Their bond wasn't strong enough to feel the other's emotions but they didn't need it. Izaya doesn't remember exactly what they talked about. Only that Chie laughed off his concern about moving into middle school and leaving her alone in grade school. Also, he vividly remembers Chie looking him in the eye and saying, "You should stop telling me to be more controlled and learn to loosen up a little bit. Stop caring about humanity so much, you're better than all them stacked on top of each other and holding their arms above their heads. American crowds do this wave thing, wooo."

After that, Chie disappeared. Her whole family dropped off the face of the Earth. She sent Izaya an e-mail that her family was moving out of the country, maybe to America, maybe to Europe, wherever her dad could get a job. That goodbye e-mail was the last he ever heard from her. A few days after she left, Izaya got out a photo of Chie and focused really hard on the memory of her. He was able to feel a soft pull towards the Pacific. So, she was in America and not dead. That would be the last feeling he would ever get from his soul bond. Months later he would try to feel for her again and fail.

It had been over ten years since he last saw Chie. As far as he knew she was still alive. Once he had made some powerful connections in the information trading world he cast a net looking for her. Her family must have changed their name when they moved because all he ever found were their airplane tickets to San Francisco, California from there their trail went cold. He had never felt a pain that would indicate Chie was dead. When he was seventeen he spent a day in bed with a horrible headache and thoughts of Chie kept surfacing but he never got the feeling she was dead. Either that headache was a symptom of staying up until 5 a.m. and eating a lot of Indian food last night or Chie had been injured.

Izaya wouldn't go so far as to say he missed her. He used to, when she first left it felt like a gaping hole in his chest. He would stand in front of a mirror and stare at the small mark on his left shoulder blade to see if it would fade, which it never did. But nowadays he would just think of her fondly every once in a while. He was very glad he had met her. He didn't have to be one of those people always wondering where and who his soul mate might be. Knowing her had helped make him into whom he was today, and no doubt he had affected her life as well, that was good enough for him. He had come a long way since elementary school. He had all of humanity to love, he didn't need his soul mate.

He also didn't need to be reminiscing right now. A member of the Yakuza was paying him very good money to find out who the soul mate of his rival was. Izaya had a bit of a reputation for being successful in the illusive hunt for soul mates. He liked to think it was just because he was a genius at reading people, but perhaps being bonded when he was seven also helped him recognize the subtle signs. Most people didn't find their soul mate until they were an adult, after all. Izaya pretended to be texting while he eyed a woman in high heals leave a store. She certainly looked like she could be the soul mate of a gang member. He watched the woman head down the street. He was about to follow when a loud curse in English from his right drew his attention.

A thin figure in a skirt sat down hard on the sidewalk. A large piece of glass was quite clearly protruding from the bottom of her shoe. Izaya was prepared to turn and leave but something made him take a second glance at the woman. Something about her, perhaps her body type, her posture, the way she sat with her legs neatly folded to the side despite her obvious pain, caught his attention. He took a step closer to the woman as she eyed her injured foot. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, used it to cover her hand, and then yanked the shard of glass out with a painful hiss. The woman wrapped up the glass and put it into her pocket. Then, she finally tilted her head up to scan her surroundings. Izaya's eyebrows shot up in shock. It was Her.

Last time he saw her she was an 11 year old girl. She had grown into a woman. Wow, she was a woman. Her skin was a little tanner, her body now that of a thin, fit adult. She had breasts, small ones dressed in a plain blue t-shirt, and hips. He wanted to see more of her legs but they were hidden under her shin-length skirt. Her dark brown hair was a little lighter than he remembered. Longer too. Her hair and always been naturally curly, she used to brag about it in grade school, she used to have it cut close around her shoulders but now she had regal curls framing her entire face and falling to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Her face was sleek and well proportioned to frame her hauntingly sharp brown eyes. Chie, just like he remembered her, no better.

"In my way," Izaya couldn't resist. He took a few steps closer to the sitting woman.

"Huh?" she looked up at him with confusion. Izaya waited a moment to see if she would recognize her long lost soul mate. She scanned him up and down but no light flashed behind her intense eyes. "Are you talking to me?" Oohh, she had an accent.

"Heh, you didn't forget your husband did you?" He teased her like he used to. The realization appeared on her face in an instant.

"Izy?" she said with wonder.

"It's been a long time, Chi-chan." He smiled.

"Oh my god…" A grin slowly spread over her face. "Look at you…" Her accent was so thick, it was adorable. "It's been what? Fifteen years?" she chuckled.

"12. What are you doing back in Ikebukuro, Chie?"

"Long story," she said with a sigh.

"We'll talk while you get your foot fixed," Izaya beamed and crouched next to her.

"What?" she blinked with confusion as he bent down. Then she squeaked with surprise as he easily scooped her up bridal style. "Hey! Izy, put me down I can walk!" She clutched the front of his shirt as he carried her.

"It's easier this way." He didn't stop smiling. Twelve years after she disappeared here he was carrying his soul mate through Ikebukuro. Whether he needed her in his life or not he wanted to at least catch up, find out where she had been all these years.

"But I can walk," she grumbled.

"Mhh hmm," Izaya hummed happily as he headed towards Shinra's apartment. It was the middle of the day so the mob doctor would probably be home and having him patch up Chie would be much quicker then taking her the emergency room.

"Where are we going?" Chie looked around.

"My friend's apartment he's a better doctor then the ones at the hospital."

"Oh," she accepted this no problem. She then noticed people staring at them and hid her face against Izaya's coat with embarrassment. There weren't a lot of people on the streets at the moment but everyone who was out stared at them. "Ugh, is if far? I'll hobble."

"You never used to care about people staring."

"Yeah, well I grew up."

"What's that accent? It doesn't sound American."

"It's a mix of stuff. I've been a lot of places."

"So have I."

Fortunately for Chie's pride it wasn't a far walk. "Here we are," Izaya sang as he walked into Celty and Shinra's building. Chie didn't comment as they rode the elevator up. Izaya walked up to their door. He was about to tap it with his foot instead of knocking but Chie reached over and knocked on it for him. "Shinra, Celty, it's Izaya. I have a new friend over so make sure Celty's decent." He called in a sing song voice through the door. In a moment the lock clicked open.

"Hi," Shinra opened it. He then spotted the patient and instantly went into worried doctor mode. "What's wrong?"

"She just needs a few stitches." Izaya let himself into the apartment. "Where's Celty?" He didn't think Chie should see her without her helmet on yet.

"Napping." Shinra lead them to the couch. Izaya set Chie down on the furniture while Shinra fetched his medical kit. Chia stayed silent and just observed the apartment. "Where're you hurt?" Shinra asked.

"There was a broken bottle on the sidewalk. I'll also need some antibiotics." Chie showed him her foot.

"That's not too bad." Shinra helped her take off her flat bottom slipper to look at the wound. "It'll need three or four stitches." He took out some gauze and started to clean the cut.

"So… where'd you go after San Francisco?" Izaya started up a conversation.

"Chicago, New York, Canada, then the UK," Chie said blandly. "Where have you traveled?"

"All around Japan. I've done some work in America, too."

"Work?" A small grin reappeared on Chie's face. "What adult job did you finally decide on?"

"Information broker," he answered with a smirk. She remembered their conversations.

"Pardon? My Japanese isn't as good as it used to be."

"I buy and sell information."

"Hah!" Chie let out a bark of laughter.

"You know each other?" Shinra looked between them.

"We were in grade school together," Izaya explained simply. "She moved away the summer before we met, or you would know her. And you, Chi-chan? What do you do?"

"Photography," she said with a fond smile.

"I'm going to stitch you up now. Are you allergic to any medication?" Shinra looked up at his patient.

"I don't need any drugs. Just do it," she ordered.

"You sure?" Shinra checked.

"Yes." Chie placed her forefinger between her lips to bite down on as Shinra pressed the needle into the sensitive flesh of her foot. Izaya watched silently as Chie calmly took the stitches. Once Shinra finished, he continued the conversation.

"What do you photograph?" he made sure to say it clearly so she could understand.

"Anything that sells." Chie turned her slipper over in her hand. It was ruined by both blood and a large hole in the bottom. "Excuse me, Shinra-san, do you have some heavy tape I could use?" She asked the doctor as he finished wrapping gauze around her foot.

"Sure," Shinra got up to retrieve a roll of duct tape from a drawer. Chie was apparently tired of sitting and stood up.

"Thanks," she took the tape and quickly patched the hole in her shoe and covered the blood stains. She handed the tape back and slipped her shoe on over her bandaged foot.

"Can I treat you to lunch, Chi-chan?" Izaya asked.

"Maybe…" Chie pulled her cell phone out of her skirt pocket. "Let me check." She started to type out a text.

"I didn't know you had friends in grade school, Izaya," Shinra commented.

"I was very popular," Izaya said with a smirk.

"I've got an hour," Chie declared after texting for a minute. "That should be plenty of time to catch up."

"Okay. Bye, Shinra," Izaya headed towards the door with Chie in toe.

"Thank you," Chie added.

"No problem. Have a nice day," the friendly doctor said goodbye.

Chie walked with a slight limp but could keep up with Izaya's pace so he didn't need to carry her to Russian Sushi.

"Happy to be back in Japan?" Izaya made idle conversation on the way there.

"A little. It doesn't feel like home anymore than anywhere else but…it's a part of my past. I feel more nostalgic then anything. And seeing you here only made it worse," she smiled at him playfully. Izaya grinned in return. He took out his own cell phone and sent a few quick messages to ensure that Tom and Shizuo were busy across town and wouldn't disturb his pleasant reunion.

"You don't look all that different, actually," Chie commented as she scanned him head to toe. "Did you ever try a different hair style, Izy?"

"Why bother? This one works just fine." Chie shook her head at him with amusement. "You look very different, Chi-chan, you're all grown up."

"And you still look like a little kid," she giggled.

"Being grown up's boring," Izaya said in an exaggerated voice.

"Heh, I remember that you couldn't wait to grow up."

"Izaya, come for sushi?" Simon spotted them.

"Yes, my friend and I are here for lunch," Izaya said back cheerfully.

"Good, bring all your friends. Sushi is good," Simon nodded. Chie eyed the large man suspiciously. Izaya took her arm to lead her inside. Her head swiveled to watch Simon until her view was blocked by the closing doors. It wasn't too busy so they found a table in the corner and ordered. Izaya just got his usual and Chie ordered a sampler plate.

"I haven't had sushi in a long time." She said with a nostalgic smile. "But was that man Russian?"

"That's Simon. He's to thank for keeping this a restraint only locals eat at." That got a smile out of Chie. Things were going well so Izaya began a more serious topic. "Ready to tell me your long story?"

"Only if you swear not to sell it to anyone."

"Who'd want to buy it?"

"I don't know what kind of people you deal with."

"I'll tell you. After you left I went to Raira Middle School. That's where I met Shinra," he started the bullet points of his life story. Chie obviously wasn't going to open up unless he shared first. Their food arrived so they could eat and talk at the same time. "I started to develop contacts in high school. Small time at first, local gangs and such and worked my way up from there." He paused to take a bite of his lunch. Chie ate in silence. "Reputation is the most important thing. I'm known as the best at what I do so anyone who wants to know anything can come to me."

"So you work with anyone who can pay?"

"Pretty much. Random people on the street who've heard about me will sometimes ask for help and my reputation goes up pretty high in some circles, especially illegal ones. They're the ones who are willing to pay top dollar for information, after all. The only ones who don't know about me are law enforcement."

"Well, you certainly know how to brag to an old friend," Chie smiled when he finished. Izaya returned the gesture and waited for her to share. "How are your sisters?" she asked first.

"They're in middle school now. Still as bothersome as ever," he answered. Chie nodded. She chewed her sushi and mused for a minute before starting to talk.

"Every time we moved we jumped either state or country boarders. Apparently dear old dad was cheating the system and had to keep moving so his old work place didn't communicate with the new one. He passed away a while ago, Mom's settled down in the UK, Big Brother works with a shipping company, it's just me and my fiancé who are back in Japan."

"You're engaged?" Izaya knew he shouldn't have been surprised but he was.

"I'm not 11, Izy, I'm 23. It's normal for people my age to be engaged," she said with a small smile. Izaya frowned. Chie, was his soul mate, she wasn't supposed to be normal. "He works in the editorial business, doing bureaucratic stuff. We met when I submitted some photos to the magazine he was working at. We're in Ikebukuro because there were opportunities for both of our careers."

"And this fiancé of yours?" he couldn't resist asking. So far her life was sounding oddly normal. Either she was lying or she had completely changed from the mad little girl he had bonded with.

"He's a good man. He has a sense of humor. Good work ethic. He treats me well," she shrugged. Izaya's frown intensified.

"If I remember correctly, nine year old Chie threatened to hit me over the head with a rock if I treated her poorly."

"Did I do that? Sorry." Chie giggled. "Like I said, Jones is a good man he wouldn't cheat on me. If he did I would do something, it wouldn't involve a rock though."

"Do you love him even though he's not your soul mate?" Perhaps he was being a little personal, but since when had that ever stopped him before?

"How do you he's not?" Chie said in a jovial tone. Izaya was about to say something then caught sight of her face. She looked sincere. Like she was truly joking. This was wrong. She had known, and it wasn't the type of thing a person could forget. His lack of amusement must have showed on his face because her expression turned confused.

"Akita Chie," Izaya leaned forward. "Do you know why I asked you to pretend marry me?"

"I don't remember," Chie shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck.

"When we first met? You trampled me," he prodded, keeping a close watch on her expressions. She didn't meet his eyes.

"We were kids. Our 'dates' were us holding hands and walking home from school." She scratched at the back of her head.

"Chi-chan," he said slowly and titled his head to met her eyes. "I'm your soul mate, Chie."

"Nuhuh." She looked at the wall. The way she rubbed the back of her neck was getting a bit too frantic to be natural. "No, I'd remember that."

"We talked about it. It's why we agreed to get pretend married," Izaya continued talking calmly. There was something very wrong with Chie and he wanted to find out what it was.

"No, no." Chie was more talking to herself at this point. "I'm not a violent person. My soul is calm. If I ever found a soul mate it would be a calm person that would help me control myself." Her rubbing turned to furious digging at her hairline.

"Chi-chan," Izaya touched the hand that she wasn't using to scratch herself to snap her out of her mumbling state. She visibly jerked back to reality at the touch then shrunk away from him.

"I've got to go. I don't want to talk about this anymore." She leapt from the table and dashed out of the restaurant. Izaya was about to follow her but then remembered that Simon was at the front and would interfere with anything remotely resembling violence. He instead grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and darted through the restaurant to the back exit. A few kitchen workers made sounds of protest but he ignored them. He shoved open the door into the back alleyway and sprinted around the building to intercept Chie. It only took him a minute to catch up with her a safe distance away from Russian Sushi. She was still running but her pace had slowed down considerably, probably thanks to her foot. Izaya used an alleyway to get in front of her path and stand in her way.

"What happened to you? You're not what I remembered." Chie jumped at his voice. Tears were running down her face. "You used to be tough."

"Shut up! You have no right to judge me."

"I need a right for that?" She tensed as if she were about to try and hit him. He was ready to dodge but she held herself back.

"I don't remember how we met! I don't remember our pretend ceremony! Alright? Now leave me alone." She sidestepped around him. Izaya let her.

"23 years old and you're a shadow of your 11 year old self, it's sad," he nettled her. She completely ignored him. "What happened when you were 16, Chie?" he said to the back of her head as she walked away. That got a reaction. She instantly froze.

"What did you say?" she asked without turning around.

"November 14th I spent the day in bed with a headache."

"Oh God…" Chie slowly spun to stare at him. "We are soul bound….and I don't remember any of it." She suddenly screamed and grabbed her head with both hands. People, more people then who were already looking, turned to watch. "Those bastards! How could they make me forget my soul mate? After everything else they did to me, they couldn't even let me have that?" Izaya took her arm and lead her into an alleyway so they could have some privacy. She followed his lead without resistance. Her sobs quieted down in a few seconds. "Damnit and now I'm crying like a weakling," she muttered. She was obviously calming down so Izaya just leaned against the wall of the alleyway and waited.

Chie took a couple deep breaths and whipped her eyes. "I hurt one of my brother's friends. He slapped my butt so I stalked him home and beat him within an inch of his life. There was a security camera I didn't notice. My parents hired a lawyer. They pleaded it down so I would spend time in a mental facility instead of being tried as an adult. The doctors, they drugged me up. I told them about all the other people I'd hurt. About, everything. About how Mikaru's boyfriend was the first person I ever put in the hospital. About how I didn't feel bad about it. About how I'd do it again. They decided I was manic and I needed to be treated with…electroconvulsive therapy. To zap the violence out of me. It was the worst pain I've ever felt. It was hell. They fried my brain. I lost chunks of my childhood.

"They kept me locked up in that place for two years and I had to attend therapy for two more. I had to take these drugs that made me feel like I was living in slow motion. When they finally decided that I was cured, they gave me a smaller dosage. My parents would make me take my drugs whenever I misbehaved. It made me feel like I was in a fog, I felt happier but nothing felt real, I didn't feel like doing anything. And if I didn't take them I'd have to go back to the hospital. Now that I'm with Jones, I don't have to take my meds. He doesn't count my pills to make sure I take them.

"So, sorry that I didn't live up to your expectations. But every time I think about the way I used to be, I just remember that hospital. It makes me want to throw up! You find your soul mate again, and she's broken goods, a complete psychopath. Sucks for you. But just move on, okay. I've got to get back to my…" Izaya placed a finger over her moving lips. She stilled and finally looked at him. He met her gaze with calm and confidence.

"They broke you. Even if you weren't my soul mate, it would be entertaining to fix you. So, I will." Chie stared at him for a moment then moved her lips into a small, happy smile under his finger.

Chie kept smiling as Izaya showed her around Ikebukuro. True to her word, she crumpled over and threw up when he provoked a fight with a few idiots to remind Chie of her violent streak. It would take a little time, but if she was really the other half of his soul then she shouldn't be too hard to fix. He cleared out his schedule so he could spend the next week's worth of afternoons with Chie. He rented a hotel room and then took Chie out onto the balcony so they had a wonderful bird's eye view of the gang fight happening below. They spent the whole time placing bets on who would win the punching matches, Izaya made 500 yen, and laughing at the idiots as the police hauled them off. Chie loved it and didn't feel anxious or nauseous until after the excitement calmed down. It was really cruel of those physiologists to traumatize Chie into all but being allergic to her own nature.

As part of her reverse therapy, Izaya took her to the library and set her free. He watched her over the cover of the book he was reading. She did what she used to; flipping through a bunch of books absently, but eventually settled on a book and sat down to read. Perhaps being less fidgety was just part of her being older. Izaya had to admit it was nice to have company with similar interests for a little while, not that he necessarily wanted Chie to become a part of his life.

After the sixth afternoon spent together, Izaya sat in his office catching up on work. His cell phone rang and he snatched it without glancing away from his laptop.

"Yes?"

"Hello, Izy." Chie, he had given her his cell number but this was the first time she used it. "I just killed Jones. Can you hide the body for me or am I on my own?" Her voice was remorseless, icy calm. It took him a second to realize what she had just said.

"I'll be right there," he said. Only after he hung up did he burst out laughing. Chie, that unpredictable minx, she was back.

When Izaya arrived at Chie's apartment, he found her humming a tune while she whipped blood off the floor. The man's body lay prone with the entire drawer's worth of knives sticking out of his chest and face.

"Mind the splatter," Chie warned.

"You went overboard," Izaya eyed the mutilated face.

"I was seven years out of practice, don't mock. I nicked an artery by accident and he bleed to death. I ruined his face afterwards. He was always an ugly bastard. He looks better this way, actually."

Izaya chuckled and got out his cell phone to call in man power. He arranged for a reliable clean up crew that owed him a favor to get rid of the body and Chie already had a few suggestions for ways to make her fiancé disappear without looking suspicious. Izaya suggested she go off the grid and disappear but she shrugged him off saying she had a photo shoot tomorrow she couldn't miss. With the cleaners in the apartment, Chie came over to his office and passed out on his couch. Izaya tossed a blanket over her and returned to work on his laptop. He stayed up all night making sure that all arrangements for Jones' unsuspicious gang related death were in order and restocking his resavuare of random local trivia.

He was busy trolling chat rooms when he heard Nami come in. He didn't bother to glance up as she came into the room.

"Who's that?" Nami paused when she saw the woman sleeping on the couch.

"My soul mate."

"You have a soul mate?" Nami said distastefully.

"Yep."

"Is she alive?"

"Last I checked."

"Did you steal her?"

"Only your brother is that pathetic."

"What's she doing here?"

"Waiting for you to make her coffee."

"Humph." Nami sent a glare to the oblivious Chie then went to make coffee.

In a minute Chie stirred. She sat up and yawned. "Thanks for letting me crash, Izy."

"No problem."

"Can I go back to my apartment, now?"

"Have some coffee first." As if on cue, Nami reappeared with a tray of steaming mugs.

"Who's she?" Chie looked up at the other woman.

"My secretary. Feel free to ignore her."

"Okay. Two sugars, secretary-kun." Chie held up two fingers. Nami gave her a distasteful look but did as she said then handed her the mug. Chie blew on her beverage for a moment before taking a sip. Nami set Izaya's normal order down next to him then went over to her own small desk. "Thanks for all your help. I mean it." Chie said in a solemn tone after a minute. "I don't have any way to repay you so how about we just wrap this whole thing up to a bit of fun and 'for old times sake' as the saying goes."

"Feeling better?" Izaya smiled at her. Chie beamed with pure joy.

"I saw his persona of power crumble, his fear, his worship, his pleading, and I watched the life drain from his eyes. For the first time in six years, I feel like myself again. I know who I am and how to continue living. I feel perfect." Her grin turned a little mischievous at the last sentence. It made Izaya smirk in return.

Chie downed her drink with a few quick gulps. And stood abruptly. "I'm going to go now. Unless you want to demand some sort of payment." Izaya had already thought about it so he had his answer immediately.

"We'll just say you owe me a favor."

"Fair," Chie nodded then headed towards the door. "Bye, Izaya." She waved from the doorway then left.

"That's it?" Nami commented dryly.

"She'll be back," Izaya said. After all, he was her soul mate and now he had just saved her life. Who wouldn't be devoted to him?

Apparently, Chie wouldn't be devoted to him. She didn't come back. She went to her photo shoot, lived her life, cried in front of the police when Jones body was found, and seemed perfectly content. She didn't call Izaya again. She didn't acknowledge his presence at all. Izaya was secretly impressed. She had the same outlook towards soul mates as he did. She had her own life to live, she didn't need a soul mate. She didn't need him.

Two weeks after their last contact, Chie booked a ticket back to the UK …this was not acceptable. Of course he didn't need Chie in his life. But after seeing that brilliant woman in action, he wanted her around. She was beautiful and perfect, a reminder of everything he loved about humanity. Not to mention, now that they were close again, their bond created a pleasant humming sound in the back of his skull. The sensation helped him focus, kept him awake and alert. How much would a strong bond improve his efficiency? It was a test he wanted to conduct.

So, instead of Chie coming to him, he went to her. Izaya approached her while she was at a photo shoot for a magazine. There were male models and crewmen everywhere so he snuck onto set no problem.

"Chin towards me. Better. Look at me like you mean it. I like you mean it, you sickly beanstalk. There, that's more like it." Chie crouched on the ground with a camera and snapped pictures of a young woman posing next to a tree. Chie's working clothes were a white and dark purple blouse and matching pants with her dark brown curls tied back in a low ponytail. Izaya hung back to watch her. After a few more poses, the boss called break. Chie got off the ground and started looking through the photos saved on her digital camera.

"So, you insult people for money," Izaya walked up to her. Chie was only marginally startled to see him there.

"Hello. Do you need a favor?"

"Nope, just you."

"Really?" Chie looked up at him.

"We're soul mates, right? Why not spend some time together? If it gets boring you can go back to the UK and poison your mother," Izaya offered with a shrug.

"I'm going to do that anyway. But…" Chie sauntered into his personal space and smirked up at him. "I won't delete your cell number. Unless I need the room in my phone's memory or if you forget to text me at least once a day. And maybe, if I feel like it, I'll come back to Ikebukuro once Mommy gets her comumpants. How's that?"

Izaya grinned down at her. She was special. He needed to show her that, to give a gesture he would never give to anyone else. Izaya took his hands out of his pockets and held his arms out.

"Hug?"


End file.
